Trains to run under NATO summit at McCormick Place

Commuters should still expect delays, Secret Service says

A Metra train passes underneath McCormick Place this month. Trains will be allowed to run under the convention center during next month's NATO summit. (Terrence Antonio James, Chicago Tribune)

In a signal that downtown Chicago won't be placed on a virtual security lockdown during the NATO summit next month, trains will be permitted to pass under McCormick Place, although commuters should expect delays, theU.S. Secret Service said Tuesday.

The long-awaited decision will affect thousands of regular commuters as well as anti-NATO demonstrators who are likely to ride trains to protest zones near McCormick Place, the site of the summit.

It means that Metra Electric District, South Shore Line and Amtrak trains will be able to operate normal schedules during the meeting of world leaders at the lakefront convention center on May 20 and 21, a Sunday and a Monday. The tracks run under McCormick Place.

The Canadian National Railway, which ordinarily operates freight trains under McCormick Place, will use its alternative route in the suburbs along the former Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad that CN bought three years ago, officials said.

"Our plan presents the best possible solution to balancing the need for comprehensive security while minimizing delay and intrusion on ridership," said Frank Benedetto, special agent in charge of the Secret Service's Chicago field office, in a statement.

He said rail passengers should expect delays as trains approach and pass through the McCormick Place stop. He did not say whether the station would be open, saying only that more information on possible individual station closings will be released before the summit.

The Secret Service still has not announced whether stretches of Lake Shore Drive and the Stevenson Expressway, which are just west of McCormick Place, will be open to traffic during the summit.

The Metra Electric District serves the South Side and south suburbs, with lines operating between 93rd Street, Blue Island and University Park, and downtown's Millennium and Van Buren Street stations. The Electric District has about 18,000 weekday commuters with about 172 inbound and outbound trains. The line operates about 40 trains on Sundays.

In a brief statement Tuesday afternoon, Metra would say only that it expects to operate the Electric District line, but it confirmed that riders could face delays.

Metra would not discuss the Secret Service's decision further. Metra did not respond to the Tribune's question on whether the McCormick Place stop would be closed during the summit.

"We will continue to evaluate our plans as new information becomes available and advise our customers of any changes that may impact their transportation options," the statement said.

Gerald Hanas, general manager of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, said he was still awaiting details.

"We are certainly relieved from a customer service and operations point of view," Hanas said. "A shutdown would have made lives very difficult and would have resulted in a number of transportation problems for our customers."

About 7,000 passengers ride the South Shore each weekday between northern Indiana cities as far as South Bend and Michigan City to Hegewisch on the South Side and downtown stations. The South Shore operates 37 inbound and outbound trains each weekday and 18 trains on Sundays.